Beckenham Place Park

Although so named because John Cator the younger established the park between 1757/60 and 1785 and acquired the rights of the Manor of Beckenham, it transpires that most of the land in the current park was in the neighbouring Manor of Foxgrove and some nearby Lewisham Lands that once belonged to the Forsters of Southend, Lewisham and the Earl of Rockingham/Sondes/Lees Court estate. Several accounts of the history of the park require amendment due to recent rediscoveries from different archives. The Friends of Beckenham Place Park endeavour to compile an accurate history based on archive material in the British Library, Kent, Essex and Surrey Archives. Bromley and Lewisham Local Studies…

Beckenham Place Park is Lewisham's largest green space, extending to 96 ha, and including a wide range of facilities, including a sensory garden. A railway bisects the park and the only routes joining both parts are the bridge north of woodland called the Ash Plantation or by leaving and re-entering the park in the vicinity of Ravensbourne railway station. Hence, the railway effectively divides the park into west and east sides. Beckenham Place Park contains ancient woodland as well as other habitats. Notable trees include oak, wild service tree, sweet chestnut and an ancient Turkey oak tree (reputedly the second oldest in Britain), that survived an arson attack in the 1990s but succumbed…